Chapter 16

"I REFUSE!" Arthur ran through the hallway. He only had on his boxers and pants, his shirt, jacket and tie over his shoulder, sliding the boots over his socks as he hopped as quickly as he could through the doorway, Piotr laughing behind him. Of course with his boots still on, and his longer legs he was able to catch up in seconds, but Arthur chose to ignore it.

"Does it really seem so bad? It would be fun, Da?"

"We should be making sure lunch isn't ready yet!" Arthur yelped out as a hand wrapped around his hip, pulling him to Piotr's side.

"It won't be done for another two hours, kitten." He chuckled as Arthur racked his brain for another excuse. "Don't you want to come play with me, kitten?" He purred in Arthur's ear, making his whole body tingle in hope and excitement.

"I'll not have some medication telling me what I'm feeling! I don't care what he says, he was pranking me! It was some sort of placebo! He wouldn't just randomly keep... stuff like that... around his office! And to give it to a student, preposterous!" He belted out. He headed towards the door to the exercise floor, deciding whether it was pointed or not, a good workout was his best option. "Now if you don't mind, I need to get in some exercise today!"

"You know what's good exercise?" Piotr chirped, causing Arthur to turn bright red as he slid on his shirt. He made his way out to the workout area, and though most of the kids were finishing up, he got right to work.

"He knows he's not getting points for this, right?" Sasha asked and Piotr hummed, letting him know it was true. "Then... why?"

"Sometimes a good workout is its own reward." Arthur nearly growled, knowing Piotr made some sort of motion towards him. "Yes, I'm being insufferable, insubordinate and a killjoy, but I won't allow myself to be overtaken by some tiny pills! Why in the hell is it so hot out here?!" He yelled as he continued doing his push ups. Piotr watched in amusement while Sasha just stared at the oddity of the situation.

"Lukas gave him a couple of aphrodisiacs. Arthur's trying to work them out of his system." Piotr stared, wondering what was going through the other's mind.

"There's easier, and more fun ways to do that, you know."

"It would be my first time." Arthur lowered himself to his knees, sitting up. "I don't want to have it be because of some pills! I don't want what I feel to be altered! I should know what I really feel, not what they're telling me, right?" He stared ahead blankly, missing the surprised looks on the others.

"That's oddly romantic." Sasha smiled.

"Best way to turn someone down I've ever heard." Piotr pouted, feeling like he couldn't pick as much now as a good, honest answer had been given.

Arthur started back into his push ups. It was a good half an hour that he kept it up, honestly surprising Piotr. "You really are getting stronger now."

"I know. I can feel it, but it's weird. I have all of this sensitivity the poison in my body was keeping down, and everything is so different than I'm used to. I normally wouldn't be afraid of getting cuts or injuries, but now the thought is terrifying." Arthur sighed, showing he wasn't even losing his breath yet. "The first day here, when I stepped on that glass, I wonder if I would have been able to manage it if I was like I am now? How much weaker would you have thought me right off the bat? Would you even have bothered?" Arthur sighed, starting to finally feel an ache in his arms as a warm hand slid up his back.

"You know, I didn't start getting interested because of that. It was the time we've spent together since that's made the difference." He nearly whispered and Arthur stilled, his arms locking for a moment as a soft smile graced him.

"Thank you." Arthur mumbled, finally feeling himself start to calm a little.

By lunch time the pills were in full effect, though mentally he'd been able to calm down, Arthur was near ready to tear his clothes off. He sat, feeling the silk of the boxers he'd worn rub against him and groaned, knowing he was blushing horribly. The table before him quieted quickly as he slowly sat, trying to adjust to the textures.

"You were too hard on him, Mon ami!" Francis muttered in shock.

"You must not have been very good at it. You still look... frustrated." Antonio added and Arthur shook his head.

"It was Lukas! He did this to me!" Arthur grumbled, not realizing the way his words could be mistaken. Piotr turned, covering his face with his hand to hide his laughter, the rest thinking he was crying stared in shock.

"That bastard! How could he!" Lovino yelled.

"Artie, are you okay?" Feliciano asked, softly putting a hand on his shoulder and Arthur could only stare, confused for a moment.

"I had a situation and he gave me aphrodisiacs! He didn't... No!" He shook his head, cringing at the thought. Lukas may be a beautiful man, but that didn't mean it was alright to even imagine something like that!

"He... what?!" Antonio stared, realizing and nearly fell out of his chair laughing, Piotr right beside. Arthur couldn't hold down his blush and just tried to keep from yelling in frustration.

"If worse comes to worse, they'll be taken out with your dialysis tonight, so don't worry about it." Gilbert sighed. "You're a little frustrated, and obviously trying to keep from enjoying it, so just keep it up and don't cave too close to four, alright?" He spoke, keeping an oddly level head.

Arthur stared, honestly having expected him to laugh as well. "You're being awfully calm about this." Arthur spoke softly, surprised to hear such a venomous response.

"That bastard did the same thing to me near the beginning of boot camp."

"I have a better idea than waiting." Piotr finally climbed back into his seat. "Today is the soldier testing, right?"

"Si." Antonio mumbled, shoving his face full of whatever was on his plate as Arthur took a sandwich and started nibbling.

Piotr leaned down over his shoulder, softly whispering into his ear so no one else could hear. "That book Antonio let you borrow is on the desk. Page 42 should do nicely. This is an order, by the way." Piotr sat up, starting on his own plate, taking in the shocked blush with satisfaction.

Arthur bid the group farewell and headed back to his own room with trepidation. He'd only touched a little. He'd never gone to the point of getting himself off before and now was terrified.

He really didn't want to do it. He sat on the bed, grasping the book and read over the page.

He felt his breath hitch as he read, tears coming to his eyes as he read the title of the page out loud. "Sometimes it's better to wait and let anticipation build." He thought for a moment before sliding the book back over onto the dresser and sighed.

He slid off his uniform, feeling it would be alright to wear something more comfortable to the dialysis and sat on the bed, feeling the air brush against him in the room. He laid back and let his hands move over himself, taking in the texture of his skin, the hair on his arms, the skin across his stomach and the small course hairs below his belly button. As his hand moved lower he couldn't help but blush, even though he was alone. It wasn't the need to get himself off that spurned him on, but actual general curiosity. He knew what he had. He washed it in the bath, and had been hit there while playing ball and jumping on rocks, but he never really took the time to explore over it, the sensations and textures. He ran his hand down his leg first, feeling the sensation of running his finger between the sensitive spots and his leg, surprised to find it was more sensitive as well. He frowned, wondering if the whole area between his hips and his legs would be the same way. His hand ran lower, and though it took a bit of effort, he ran a finger around his anus. It was softer than he'd figured, a smoother texture of skin. It was oddly sensitive as well, and he frowned, remembering what he'd read in the book. He frowned as he gently slid in a finger. It wasn't nearly as painful as he'd expected after the book and his rape. He moved the finger a little further in and winced, feeling the second ring of muscle stretch and just sat for a moment, letting himself adjust. It only took a moment til the pain died down and he moved the finger around. It felt weird, but by no means as good as expected. He removed the finger and got comfortable again, running his fingers a little further forward, running over his testicles. They were softer than they looked. The skin, he remembered looked horribly veiny and crumpled, but the actual skin felt smoother and softer than he would have imagined. He softly squeezed, his breath catching at the sensation. It was more than he'd expected.

He took a deep breath and let his fingers rise, running over his length. It hadn't been too many times in his life that he'd really been hard, but this had to have been the worst. Just the sensation of his fingers running up the shaft made his head spin. His fingers felt over the silken skin. His thumb and pointer finger couldn't quite close all the way around it. Though the shaft was soft, the tip felt softer and he found himself running his hand over it next. He felt his ass clench, his hips thrusting up against his hand beyond his will and stopped that immediately. He let his fingers wrap back around the shaft, feeling the length of it rubbed and let out a soft sigh.

Then the door opened.

Arthur shot up, eyes wide, his hands clasping down between his legs to try and cover himself as he held his head down, blushing like mad. He heard Piotr's heavy boot falls before the door closed. He was too afraid to even move a muscle. He knew the other would know what he was doing, and it struck him as sad and pathetic. He felt the bed shift as the other sat beside him and heard a soft sigh. "Maybe I told you the wrong page. I thought 42 said to let anticipation build?"

"No, that was right." Arthur mumbled. "I wasn't trying to get myself off. I was just... curious." He mumbled, turning brighter red at every word.

"Did you not know what was down there?" Piotr asked, a soft chuckle lighting the room.

"I'd never... really felt it before. I knew what was there, but..." Arthur felt like dying. This was so embarrassing!

"Did you get to feel over everything?" Piotr's voice was soft and oddly calm. Arthur just nodded, to embarrassed to even speak. "Here." He felt the bed shift again and turned his head, hearing the footsteps as Piotr stood before him. He heard the button and buckle unclip and turned brighter red. "You can compare." Arthur felt Piotr's hands run down his arms and lift his hands, placing them on his now bare hips.

"You're sure this is alright?" Arthur asked and heard a hum of approval. He let his hands move over his rear first. It was firmer than his was, and he could feel some hair. As his hands moved lower, he realized his legs had quite a bit of hair on them and remembering lifted his hands, finding Piotr's belly button. His fingers ran down, feeling the same course hair he had, but about three times more of it. Arthur hummed, curious about why he didn't have as much when he remembered Lukas saying he didn't have the hormones during puberty. He let his fingers move down and around, softly running over the parts that hung. There was again more hair, but the skin seemed rougher, and tighter than his own. His face shifted up to where he could imagine Piotr's face to be, as he reached down and felt his own again, honestly comparing the textures. It was so different, but he had to admit, physically, he was horribly different from Piotr. His other hand raised back up as he ran his fingers along his length, now half up from the playing. "Your skin is softer than mine here." He whispered, feeling the silken texture, the odd warmth, the soft thrum of his pulse.

He barely realized what he'd done til it was over. He found himself on his knees, his tongue running up. He wanted suddenly so badly to know what he tasted like. Piotr gasped in surprise, nearly crumpling to the floor as the sensation of Arthur's mouth running over him almost had him fainting. "Arth- wha-" He tried to find words.

"So soft..." Arthur moaned out. "Just a little salty." He gasped, feeling his own head spin with adrenaline. He stood and turned, giving one solid shove. Normally it wouldn't have done much, but the weakness in Piotr's knees with the sudden feeling of invincibility from Arthur had the other falling onto his back across the bed, his eyes wide in surprise. Arthur stepped forward, an soft smirk before he licked his lips and crawled up onto the bed beside Piotr, his hand running over him. "This is definitely more fun than I thought it would be." He grinned before kissing down the other's body and took the length of him into his mouth. It didn't fit all the way, and he couldn't move too much with the awkward intrusion, but it didn't matter to him. He wanted to feel as much of it as he could and wrapped his hands around the parts he couldn't suck or lick, softly moving them with the motion of his bobbing head. It took Piotr a second to regain himself and grasped Arthur's arm and tugged, pinning him to the bed by his biceps. Arthur stared ahead, unsure of what had happened before a moist heat wrapped around him. Arthur's back arched at the sensation, nearly yelling out in ecstasy before it was brought away.

"The first time, we go together." Ivan whispered, pulling Arthur between his legs. Arthur braced for the pain he was sure was coming, but instead felt as another hardness was pressed against his own, a hand wrapping around and squeezing. Not enough to be painful, but enough that when Piotr's hips shifted he felt every bit of it. Piotr's hand started moving, caressing, and Arthur threw his hands over his mouth to keep from screaming out. His own hips rocked against the hand, the feelings he had and even though he couldn't see, for a moment there were white sparks in the corners of his vision.

"It's too strong!" Arthur gasped out, fighting to keep the building sensation from breaking away from him. "I can't hold it!" He cried and Piotr's hand tightened. Somehow the change in pressure made him more sensitive, he felt it more, but he suddenly felt like that building sensation was pushed back. He could feel sweat drip onto his face, running down his cheeks and chest. It only took a moment til Arthur was clawing at the sheets, though he wasn't even aware of why. "I can't-" Arthur gasped, his breath catching again as Piotr panted above him.

"Together." He reached down, grasping Arthur's cheek and brought their lips together as a few stronger thrusts caused Arthur to tip over the edge, the feeling of release hitting him harshly. He yelled out, the sound being swallowed by Piotr's mouth as a few more thrusts seemed to keep the sensation from completely crushing him. Piotr softly pulled his head back, looking up at Arthur who laid with tears in his eyes. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"No." Arthur reached up, grabbing him tightly and pulled Piotr down harder over him. "Don't go away." He cried. Piotr rolled to his side, pulling Arthur up against him.

"What's wrong?" Piotr asked and Arthur shook his head.

"I caved in. I couldn't hold out. I wanted our first time to be without medications. I wanted to see your face." Arthur cried and Piotr chuckled.

"That's what you're so upset over?" He asked as he slid his hand up Arthur's arm to his cheek and moved his face closer before giving him a gentle kiss. "Arthur, technically, we didn't just have sex." He spoke. Arthur stared, confused as Piotr's other arm wrapped beneath his waist, pulling him closer. "I never... entered." He was expecting a relieved sigh.

Instead he got sobs. "Why are you sad now?" Piotr asked and Arthur shook his head again, pulling the other closer.

"Why on earth would I be sad?" He cried, kissing Piotr at the corner of his mouth.

It took a while to calm down, but Arthur needed a shower before his visit to Lukas today. He could feel the moisture of the sticky substance drying on his chest. Knowing he needed to change the sheets now anyway, and since all of his own clothing was now in dire need of washing, he stripped down and wrapped them both in the giant sheet, grabbing two sets of pajamas from the drawers before lifting Arthur into his arms and carrying him across the hall. The dirty clothes hamper was overstuffed, and Piotr honestly couldn't have cared less, except in his haste he'd gotten the new clothes into the mess as well and they had to be tossed in. They didn't have too long to shower, but it made Piotr's heart pound and warm to see the jubilant smile that crossed Arthur's face when they stepped into the shower. He'd been afraid Arthur hadn't really wanted him, but seeing this cheer, so happy he still fought tears let him know his love really was returned. "Thank you." Piotr spoke softly as he washed himself off, Arthur scrubbing at his stomach at the time.

"For what?" His tone was light and airy, refusing to release the happiness he felt.

"For loving me." He couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you for loving me as well. You haven't said it, but it's a little hard to miss." Arthur whispered softly and Piotr turned, staring. He hadn't said it yet, had he? He realized that might have hurt him when it came to Arthur trusting him with things like this, but in that case, why did he trust him now?

He watched as Arthur cleaned himself off, softly humming a song and realized it didn't really matter. What mattered was making sure he was able to completely sweep Arthur off of his feet. He was the king, and as such, he had certain obligations, and it had become apparent to him a while back, though he hadn't said it either, that one of those goals was making sure Arthur stayed by his side. Like the Earth needed the Sun, he needed the man standing before him. Piotr finished his cleaning, and seeing Arthur struggling to reach the shower above, he stepped up to turn it off before hugging Arthur to him.

They dried themselves off, but Ivan's towel was horribly small and didn't cover much, so when they went back to the room to change he just tossed his in with the dirty clothes. After all, at this hour there wasn't much of a chance of anyone being in the hallways. They'd all be in classes, the mess hall or in the arena.

"Uh..." Lovino blurted, absolutely dumbfounded while Francis chuckled.

"Mon dieu! What an interesting sight!" He chuckled as Arthur turned, wrapping his towel tighter around himself.

"Sorry, we'll be dressed momentarily!" He yelped out as Piotr turned, honestly not caring who saw him naked.

"Da, momentarily." A pleasant, overly amused smile lit his face. He loved seeing Arthur flustered!

"Just make sure it really is a moment, si?" Antonio cheered. "We can't wait for an hour while you 'find your pants' or some other excuse!" He laughed as Piotr tried to keep from laughing, following Arthur into the room and closing the door.

"Was he always that hot?" Gilbert blathered, drool making its way down his chin as his wide eyes stared at the door before him.

"You just noticed?" Antonio laughed while Francis sighed.

"I wouldn't mind trying him out, I'll admit. I thought he'd be more chubby. That's just gorgeous."

They heard a yell from within the room, and though it was muffled by the door, it was easy to hear. "You can't have him! He's mine!" The four nearly fell over laughing.